PMQs today: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clash over Brexit as Tory MPs issue demands over EU deal - as it happened

Jeremy Corbyn has revealed he was at meeting in Derbyshire at the exact time that a former Communist spy claims to have been with him in London.

The Labour leader said his records prove he attended a gathering of socialists in Chesterfield in October 1987, when the Czech agent claims to have been talking with him in the House of Commons.

It also happened to be the day after Mr Corbyn’s mother died and a Saturday – when the Commons does not sit – making the alleged meeting in Westminster more unlikely.

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Jeremy Corbyn strayed from his normal routine to press Theresa May on Brexit during Prime Minister's Questions today. In an unusual - and effective - exchange, the Labour leader honed in Tory divisions that are making life difficult for the PM.

Political commentator John Rentoul approves, saying Corbyn was "fearless" in today's clash.

Read his take here:

Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, has refused to give a timeframe for publishing the Government's plans for post-Brexit immigration.

Quizzed on the matter by the European Scrutiny Committee, she said only that the proposals will be published "in due course".

"When they are ready and when parliamentary timetabling allows, we will be bringing them forward." she said. "It will be coming forward in the coming months."

The plans were due to be published last summer but were pushed back until the end of 2017. Publication has since been delayed again, with Home Secretary Amber Rudd saying they are "likely" to be published by the end of 2018.

A Labour MP has been left "badly shaken up" and bruised after he was mugged on his way home from Parliament on Tuesday night.

Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West, was near his home in Southwark when he was attacked by "up to six" hooded assailants at around 10pm.

One of the group jumped on his back before being fought off but another attacked Mr Bailey from behind, a third person blocked his exit with a bike, before Mr Bailey shouted for help to someone he thought was a passer-by.

They turned out to be a fourth attacker and the MP suffered "a number of blows" and was hit over the head with a "large milk container" during the struggle.

Mr Bailey handed over his phone and wallet before the attackers made off and he made his way home to call the police.

Despite some "bumps and bruises", he did not require hospital treatment.

The 72-year-old said: "I appreciate that many other people have gone through what I went though last night and it really brought home to me the value of having bobbies on the beat to deter such attacks.

"Every member of the public deserves the right to walk about in a safe and non-threatening environment.

"The Metropolitan Police response has been excellent and they are working hard with me to identify the perpetrators of this attack."

One of Brussels’ most controversial EU officials received an unexpected promotion on Wednesday, putting him in charge of the entire EU civil service.

Martin Selmayr, who has made a name for himself as chief of cabinet to president Jean-Claude Juncker since 2014, was confirmed as the new European Commission Director General at a meeting of the college of commissioners on Wednesday morning.

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The Government will "definitely" put forward a fixed date for the end of the Brexit transition, the Prime Minister's spokesman has said.

Britain has asked the EU to consider granting the UK a longer Brexit transition period than the one proposed by Brussels, documents drawn up by negotiators show.

The PM's spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "If we can make progress sooner we will... We are seeking around two years, the EU are obviously saying around 21 months."

He said there would be an "end date" in the agreement, which the Government hopes to make clear next month.

On the appointment of Baroness Stowell - see here - the PM’s spokesman said: “She has the full backing of the government and will be appointed the next chair of the Charity Commission. We have no doubt she’s the right person for the job and nothing in the letter from the committee changes our view.

“She went through a fair and open competition regulated by the independent commissioner for public appointments.

"It’s important to maintain the principal that chairs and regulators can come from outside the sector they are regulating and the Oxfam case proves the importance of having a strong chair who is independent from the sector.”

The Stasi archives hold no files on Jeremy Corbyn, a German official has confirmed.

The Federal Commission, which looks after the Stasi security service archives, took the unusual step of announcing it had found no records relating to Mr Corbyn following days of press speculation about the Labour leader's links with former communist states.

Press officer Dagmar Hoverstadt said: "There is currently a discussion in Britain about a possible documentation of Labor politician Jeremy Corbyn in Stasi documents. 

"The Federal Commissioner for the Stasi documents ( BStU ) generally grants media and research applicants only access to personal documents in which an official or unofficial cooperation is documented. 

"Otherwise there is no information. But as the speculation is outrageous, the BStU announces the following in this case:

"The research on the traditions of the MfS have not produced any documents or other information about Jeremy Corbyn or Diane Abbott."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been meeting with Theresa May today in Downing Street. On leaving, he tweeted that "the clock is ticking" on Brexit, and called for "more clarity" from Britain on what it wants.

Earlier, ministers were urged to extend shared parental leave to cover the self-employed..

Labour MP Tracy Brabin told the Commons that freelancers could "blaze a trail" in sharing childcare and show "Britain is serious" about closing the gender pay gap.

The former Coronation Street star, proposing her Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Extension) Bill, said that "more often than not" women have to make compromises over their career and pointed to the recent Bafta awards as evidence.

She said: "Two freelancers just cannot make the finances work.

"You only have to look at the recent Bafta awards to see how bearing the bulk of childcare can impact on career progression, women still lag behind men when they're dishing out the gongs."

Ms Brabin, moving her Bill via a 10-minute rule motion, added: "What I'm proposing comes at no extra cost to the taxpayer, maternity allowance is already paid to new mothers, it's a win-win for the Treasury.

"It also means men having more chance to spend time with their babies, allowing women to pick up opportunities as they present themselves.

"This Bill is simply to give freelancers and the self-employed the right to share the current allowance."

The Batley and Spen MP told ministers that her Bill was timely as increasingly people were working in the "gig economy".

The Bill was listed for a second reading on May 11 but is unlikely to become law in its current form without Government support or sufficient parliamentary time.